Prescriptive lenses are ubiquitous in populations all over the world to enhance the visual acuity of the people making up those populations. People each have individual needs and desires with regard to optical properties and aesthetic appearance of their eyewear. Because of this, lenses are nearly continuously ground polished and fined at millions of eye centers worldwide. In an age of immediate gratification, the ability of providers to finish such lenses rapidly is important to many.
Speeding lens manufacture requires speeding individual steps in the manufacturing process. Blocking whether it be for surfacing operations or finishing operations is one step that increases overall time in the manufacture of lenses at least because of the need to clean the lens of the adhesion material used in blocking or taping the lens. Such cleaning occurs once the lens is separated from the block. Different blocking materials such as alloy metals or waxes or tape require different cleaning methods, but each takes time.
Another drawback common in the part art is shock stress on a lens caused by a deblocking operation. The apparatus and method disclosed hereinafter alleviates shock stress as well by providing a quick, easy and effective means of deblocking the lens without the banging currently common in the art. In the continuing effort to reduce time associated with ophthalmic lens production and the quest to produce better lenses, the following has been developed.